All-weather marker device



Sept. 23, 19 69 H. M. BEATTY ALL-WEATHER MARKER DEVICE Filed June 22,1967 INVENTOR flask idff ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,468,047ALL-WEATHER MARKER DEVICE Huston M. Beatty, P.0. Box 127, Sturgeon, Mo.65284 Filed June 22, 1967, Ser. No. 648,087 Int. Cl. G09f 3/18, 7/18U.S. CI. 40-10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tubular supportportion is open at the upper and lower ends thereof, a stake beingreceived in the lower end thereof and a cap closing off the upper endthereof. Reinforcing ribs are formed in opposite sides of the tubularsupport portion for rigidifying the support portion, the support portionincluding upper and lower portions joined by an integral arcuate portionand defining an included angle of approximately 120. A marker portioncomprises a flat plate defining a fiat marker surface, the markerportion being formed of Fiberglas and adapted to receive on the markersurface thereof a suitable marking substance such as marking ink orgrease from a grease pencil and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a marker deviceremovably mounted on a stake driven into the ground, and provides amarking arrangement which remains legible under all weather conditions.

Marker devices have been provided in the prior art wherein markerportions are mounted on stakes adapted to be driven into the ground.Such prior art arrangements have posed a number of problems, a principalone of which is the fact that the indicia on the marker portions of suchdevice do not remain legible when subjected to adverse weatherconditions.

Additionally, the marker portions of prior art devices are often notreadily removable from the stakes upon which they are mounted.Additionally, prior art marker devices of this type have not proved tobe sufiiciently rigid, and yet at the same time of lightweight, simpleand inexpensive construction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The marker device of the present inventionincorporates a marker portion formed of Fiberglas which is adapted toreceive marking ink or grease from a grease pencil, and this particulararrangement enables the indicia placed on the marker portion to remainlegible even after extensive exposure to various weather conditions.

The marker device of the present invention includes a tubular supportportion which is open at the lower end thereof so that it can be readilyslipped onto and off of supporting stakes. Additionally, the supportportion includes reinforcing ribs to provide a rigid construction, andthis tubular portion may be formed of aluminum or a similar substance soas to be of lightweight, inexpensive construction.

Additionally, the tubular support portion of the present inventionincludes upper and lower portions angularly related to one another sothat when the lower portion of the support portion is mounted on astake, the marker portion supported on the upper portion of the devicewill be disposed at a convenient upwardly facing angle so as to bereadily visible to persons adjacent thereto when the device is mountedin operative position.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new and novelall-weather marker device wherein indicia thereon remain legible underall weather conditions, and further wherein the marker portion of thedevice may be readily removed from a supporting stake, the deviceproviding a rigid and lightweight yet simple and inexpensiveconstruction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a top perspective viewillustrating the device of the present invention mounted in operativeposition;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged top perspective exploded view of the structureshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section through the structure shown in FIG. 1 on anenlarged scale; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken substantiallyalong line 44 of FIG. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawingwherein like reference characters designate cooresponding partsthroughout the several views, the device includes a support portionindicated generally by reference numeral 10 and comprising a one-piece,tubular body 12 of generally rectangular crosssectional configurationwhich may be substantially square, this body being formed of alightweight material such as aluminum or the like.

As seen paritcularly in FIG. 3, the lower end 14 of the tubular supportportion is open and receives the upper end of a stake 16 having a lowerpointed end 18 which is adapted to be driven into the ground.

As seen most clearly in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tubular support portion isprovided with reinforcing ribs 22 and 24 formed in opposite sidesthereof, these ribs simply comprising indented portions of the tubularsupport portion extending longitudinally thereof as seen most clearly inFIG. 3. These reinforcing ribs serve to rigidify the support portion.

The upper end 30 of the tubular support portion is open and is adaptedto receive an end cap 32 formed of plastic or a suitable substance, thiscap being snugly received in the open end of the tubular support portionand including a peripheral flange portion 34 adapted to engage andprovide a seal with the open end of the support portion so that theentry of water or foreign objects into this open upper end of thesupport portion is prevented. The cap also includes a portion 36 ofsubstantially the same cross-sectional configuration as the upper partof the tubular support portion, portion 36 fitting within the open upperend of the support portion as seen in FIG. 3. As seen in FIG. 2, portion36 is provided with a plurality of ribs 38 formed on the outer surfacethereof which are adapted to engage the inwardly facing surface of theopen upper end of the support portion so that the end cap can be forcedinto operative position as seen in FIG. 3 and will be tightly held insuch position.

A hole 40 is provided adjacent the open upper end of the support portionfor receiving an attaching means, and a larger hole 42 is providedopposite to hole 40 for a purpose hereinafter described.

A marker portion indicated generally by reference numeral 50 comprises aplate formed of Fiberglas and includes an upwardly facing fiat markersurface 52 and an opposite flat surface 54. A hole 56 is formed throughthe marker portion for a purpose hereinafter described.

As seen particularly in FIG. 2, the upper portion of the support portiondefines a flat surface 60 against which the undersurface 54 of themarker portion is adapted to rest as seen particularly in FIG. 3. Whenthe marker portion is disposed in this position, a rivet 62 is insertedthrough holes 56 and 40, and a suitable tool inserted through theopposite hole 42 so that the inner end 64 of the rivet can be upset tosecurely attach the portions 3 of the device in the operative positionillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3.

As seen in FIG. 3, the upper and lower portions of the support portionare joined by an intermediate arcuate portion and define an includedangle a of approximately 120'. This relationship is such that when thedevice is mounted on a stake extending substantially vertically as seenin FIG. 3, the upwardly facing marker surface 52 of the marker portionwill be disposed at a convenient angle so that it can be readilyobserved by a person standing adjacent thereto.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the apparatus is illustrated in its operativeposition wherein it may be used for indicating the price or descriptionof some item in the general vicinity thereof. As seen in this figure,indicia 70 are provided on the marker surface 52 indicating the price ofa particular item. As seen in this figure, the marker device is disposedrelatively close to the ground. This arrangement may, however, be variedas hereinafter discussed.

The indicia 70 on the Fiberglas marker portion are formed with markingink or grease from a grease pencil. The combination of this type ofmarking substance with the Fiberglas material of the marker portion issuch as to enable the indicia to readily withstand all weatherconditions and to remain clearly legible.

It is apparent that the size of the marker portion may be varied inaccordance with various requirements, and that more than one supportportion may be employed where a relatively large marker portion isdesired. It is apparent that the length of the associated stake may bevaried as desired in order to adjust the vertical height of the markerdevice, and this same purpose may be accomplished by extending thelength of the tubular support portion itself.

It is apparent from the foregoing that there is provided according tothe present invention a new and novel allweather marker device whereinindicia thereon remain legible when subjected to various adverse weatherconditions. The marker device is readily removable from an associatedstake and may be readily replaced thereon when desired. The markerdevice provides a rigid construction which at the same time is quitelightweight, simple and inexpensive in construction.

As this invention may be embodied in several forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the presentembodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, and since thescope of the invention is defined by the appended claims, all changesthat fall within the metes and bounds of the claims or that form theirfunctional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents are thereforeintended to be embraced by those claims.

I claim:

1. An all-weather marker device comprising a tubular support portiongenerally rectangular in cross section, and open at the lower endthereof for receiving the upper end of a stake, said support portionincluding upper and lower integral portions joined by an intermediatearcuate portion having concave and convex surfaces so that the upper andlower portions are angularly related to one another, said concave andconvex surfaces each being indented longitudinally and medially thereofforming parallel reinforcing ribs, and a marker portion attached to saidupper portion and defining a fiat marker surface for receiving a markingsubstance thereon.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said marker portion is formedof Fiberglas.

3. A device as defined in claim 1 including cap means closing off theupper open end of said tubular support portion.

4. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said upper and lower portionsdefine an included angle of approximately 5. An all-weather markerdevice comprising a tubular support portion open at the lower endthereof for receiving the upper end ofa stake, said support portionincluding upper and lower integral portions joined by an intermediatearcuate portion so that the upper and lower portions are angularlyrelated to one another, and a marker portion attached to said upperportion and defining a flat marker surface for receiving a markingsubstance thereon, said tubular portion being of generally rectangularcross-sectional configuration and having reinforcing ribs formed inopposite sides thereof for rigiditying the support portion, a capclosing off the Open upper end of said tubular support portion and saidmarker portion being formed of Fiberglas.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,970,697 8/1934 Hammitt.2,153,229 4/1939 Arkin 40-l24.5 2,602,250 7/1952 Raising. 3,204,3559/1965 Whitman 40145 X EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner WENCESLAO J.CONTRERAS, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 40-145

